Milei’s political rivals are rocked by a domestic abuse scandal

Domestic abuse allegations against President Javier Milei’s predecessor stand to boost the libertarian leader’s popularity and further shield him from the political costs of his austerity campaign, analysts say. 

Fabiola Yáñez, the former first lady, filed a legal complaint this week against Alberto Fernández, alleging gender violence during his time in office. Fernandez has denied the claims.

Photos from that complaint were leaked Thursday to Argentine newspapers showing Yáñez with black-and-blue bruises on her eye and arm, and messages she sent Fernández detailing days of physical abuse.

Leaders from the opposition Peronist party have swiftly distanced themselves from Fernández. And as Argentina endures a recession exacerbated by Milei’s harsh austerity, pollsters see the scandal reviving public ire against the political elite that the outsider president campaigned against. 

“This will help him gain a little more oxygen and social patience to carry out his economic surgery,” Lucas Romero, director of polling firm Synopsis, said by phone. “The impact is absolutely favourable to the government.”

Congressional Peronists signed a letter of support for Yáñez, while former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who served as Fernández’s vice-president, criticized him Friday in a post on X. “Alberto Fernández wasn’t a good president,” she said, adding that the leaked abuse photos show “the dirtiest and darkest of human conditions.” 

Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof, seen as a potential presidential contender against Milei, told a local radio station that “we’re all in shock” and called for the legal case to be resolved in court quickly. 

To make matters worse for Fernández, two videos also surfaced of another woman, media personality Tamara Pettinato, drinking inside the president’s office and flirting with him. Pettinato reportedly visited the residence during a strict nationwide lockdown Fernández implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s unclear exactly when the videos were filmed.

As president, Fernández made feminism one of his flagship causes. His government legalised abortion and created the Women, Gender and & Diversity Minister to combat gender violence and wage inequality, among other issues. Upon taking office, Milei abolished half of the government’s ministries — starting with that one.

Milei rode the coattails of Argentines’ ire at the political establishment that came before him, and the triple-digit inflation it left in its wake, all the way to the nation’s top office last year. Fresh fodder of political misconduct helps explain why his popularity remains above 50 percent even as he cuts real pensions and wages, slashes all types of government spending and sends economic activity into a tailspin.

“They labelled us as misogynists, fascists, saying that if we got to power we would destroy it all. And the truth is that it looks like they were wrong,” Presidential Spokesman Manuel Adorni said at his Friday press briefing.